Piece goods separating apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for separating piece goods to be stored in an automated storage facility are provided. At least two bearing surfaces for receiving piece goods are engaged with a conveying system for filling the bearing surfaces with piece goods, the conveying system having transfer surfaces dedicated to the bearing surfaces. The bearing surfaces may be filled with piece goods separately from one another. A control unit is coupled to the conveying system and a detection device is coupled to the control unit for detecting the position, orientation, and package data of the piece goods. A handling mechanism is also coupled to the control unit for gripping piece goods from the bearing surfaces and depositing the piece goods on a transfer device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of priority as a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/598,542, entitled “Piece GoodsSeparating Apparatus,” filed on Jan. 16, 2015, the disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The disclosed embodiments relate to an apparatus and methods forseparating piece goods to be stored in an automated storage facility,and in particular, for separating pharmaceutical packages.

In many medical treatment settings, it is desirable to provide anapparatus and processes for separating piece goods to be stored in anautomated storage facility having a high separation capacity. Forexample, a piece goods separating device or apparatus for separatingpharmaceutical or medical packages to be stored in a pharmaceutical ormedical automated storage facility.

SUMMARY

The disclosed embodiments provide an apparatus for separating piecegoods to be stored in an automated storage facility. The apparatusincludes at least two bearing surfaces configured to receive piecegoods. The apparatus also includes a conveying system configured toprovide the piece goods to the bearing surfaces, the conveying systemcomprising one or more transfer surfaces dedicated to the bearingsurfaces and configured to transfer the piece goods to the bearingsurfaces, and a number of conveyors corresponding to the number ofbearing surfaces, wherein a transfer surface is disposed on eachconveyor, the conveyors configured to provide the bearing surfaces withthe piece goods separately from one another. The apparatus furtherincludes a control unit coupled to the conveying system, the controlunit configured to actuate the conveying system for a targeted provisionof the piece goods to the bearing surfaces. The apparatus also includesa detection device coupled to the control unit, the detection deviceconfigured to detect a position, an orientation, and package data of thepiece goods. The apparatus further includes a handling mechanism coupledto the control unit, the handling device configured to grip the piecegoods on the bearing surfaces and deposit the piece goods on a transportdevice.

The disclosed embodiments also provide a method for separating piecegoods using a piece goods separating apparatus. The method includesproviding a conveying system with piece goods, the conveying systemcomprising first and second conveyors corresponding to first and secondbearing surfaces respectively, first and second transfer surfacesrespectively disposed on the first and second conveyors, the first andsecond conveyors configured to provide the first and second bearingsurfaces with the piece goods separately from one another. The methodalso includes, via the first conveyor, moving first piece goods onto afirst bearing surface by the conveying system; determining the positionand orientation of the first piece goods on the first bearing surface;gripping the first piece goods from the first bearing surface by ahandling mechanism; conveying the first piece goods to a detectiondevice; reading, by the detection device, data of the first piece goods;and depositing the first piece goods on a transport device by thehandling mechanism. The method further includes, via the secondconveyor, moving second piece goods onto a second bearing surface by theconveying system; determining the position and orientation of the secondpiece goods on the second bearing surface; gripping the second piecegoods from the second bearing surface by a handling mechanism; conveyingthe second piece goods to the detection device; reading, by thedetection device, data of the second piece goods; and depositing thesecond piece goods on the transport device by the handling mechanism.The steps of the first and second conveyors are time-coordinated withone another such that the gripping, conveying and reading of the firstpiece goods are carried out consecutively in relation to the gripping,conveying and reading of the second piece goods.

The disclosed embodiments provide a device for separating piece goods.The device includes a plurality of bearing surfaces configured toreceive piece goods. The device also includes a conveying systemconfigured to provide the piece goods to the plurality of bearingsurfaces. The conveying system includes a separate conveyor associatedwith each of the plurality of bearing surfaces and a transfer surfacedisposed on each separate conveyor, wherein the conveyors are configuredto provide the plurality of bearing surfaces with the piece goodsseparately from one another. The device further includes a control unitconfigured to control a targeted provision of the piece goods to theplurality of bearing surfaces. The device also includes a detectiondevice configured to detect at least one of a position, an orientation,and package data of the piece goods. The device further includes ahandling mechanism configured to grip and deposit the piece goods on atransport device.

The foregoing and other features, aspects and advantages of thedisclosed embodiments will become more apparent from the followingdetailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of an embodiment of a piece goodsseparating apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of another embodiment of a piece goodsseparating apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of another embodiment of a piece goodsseparating apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of another embodiment of a piece goodsseparating apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of another embodiment of a piece goodsseparating apparatus; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating steps in a method for separatingpiece goods, according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below describes variousconfigurations of the subject technology and is not intended torepresent the only configurations in which the subject technology may bepracticed. The detailed description includes specific details for thepurpose of providing a thorough understanding of the subject technology.Accordingly, dimensions are provided in regard to certain aspects asnon-limiting examples. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that the subject technology may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well-known structures andcomponents are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuringthe concepts of the subject technology.

It is to be understood that the present disclosure includes examples ofthe subject technology and does not limit the scope of the appendedclaims. Various aspects of the subject technology will now be disclosedaccording to particular but non-limiting examples. Various embodimentsdescribed in the present disclosure may be carried out in different waysand variations, and in accordance with a desired application orimplementation.

Piece goods separating machines can be usable to make a number ofbox-shaped piece goods of a wide variety of dimensions, particularlypharmaceutical packages, which are initially located in a receiving bin,individually available such that after detecting their dimensions andafter identification, they can be stored in an automated storagefacility. With a typical conveying system, a step conveyor or a conveyorbelt, for example, conveys the piece goods out of the bin consecutivelyupwards at an angle so that the piece goods pass across a top edge ofthe step conveyor or the conveyor belt, and then fall onto a bearingsurface. The bearing surface is formed by an upper side of a plate madeof a transparent or translucent material. A camera arranged below theplate generates an image, wherein the camera is focused such that itcaptures the upper side taken up by the box-shaped piece goods frombelow. From the recorded images, both identifying data of the seatedpiece goods and the orientation and position thereof is detected. Byusing the data obtained in this way, a suction gripper taking hold ofthe piece goods from above is actuated, which grips individual packagesand delivers them to the automated storage facility.

With a typical conveying system, about 150 packages per hour can beseparated. If pharmaceutical packages are to be separated by module ofthe apparatus, the separation capacity of the aforementioned apparatusis adequate for standard pharmacies. However, if the automated storagefacility is operated by a distribution center for pharmaceuticals, or bya hospital pharmacy, for example, the separation capacity of the knownapparatus is insufficient.

Accordingly, a separating apparatus for piece goods to be stored in anautomated storage facility is provided. The separating device may haveat least two bearing surfaces for receiving piece goods and a conveyingsystem for filling the bearing surfaces with piece goods. The conveyingsystem may be provided with transfer surfaces dedicated to the bearingsurfaces via which piece goods are transferred to the bearing surfaces.The conveying system may be configured such that the bearing surfacesmay be filled with piece goods separately from one another, that is,that at one point in time, only one of two bearing surfaces is beingfilled with piece goods by way of the conveying system, for example.Subject to the precise mode of operation of the apparatus, the bearingsurfaces may be loaded with preferably only one article of piece goods,or with a plurality of piece goods.

The conveying system may be coupled to a control unit, wherein thecontrol device actuates the conveying system for a targeted filling ofthe bearing surfaces. That is, the control unit controls which bearingsurface will be filled with piece goods and when the bearing surfacewill be filled. The control unit may be coupled to a detection devicefor detecting the position, orientation, and package data (andoptionally, dimensions) of the piece goods. The detection device mayinclude multiple detection devices, and may detect the aforementioneddata in any suitable manner. For example, the detection device mayinclude one or more cameras, which interact with associated imageprocessing software for obtaining the aforementioned data.

The separating apparatus may further include a handling mechanismcoupled to the control unit for gripping piece goods from the bearingsurfaces and depositing the piece goods on a transport device. Thetransport device for receiving and forwarding the piece goods to orwithin the automated storage facility is in itself not necessarily apart of the separating apparatus, though the transport device interactswith the separating apparatus. Thus, the transport device may beprovided by the separating apparatus itself or by the automated storagefacility. The transport device may be an “active” transport device(e.g., a conveyor belt) or a “passive” transport device (e.g., a chute).

With the at least two bearing surfaces, which may be filled with piecegoods separately from one another, and from which, independently fromone another, piece goods may be removed, detected, and conveyed to thetransport device, the separating apparatus provides two parallelseparation paths. For example, with a separating apparatus having twobearing surfaces, piece goods may be conveyed to the first bearingsurface, and at the same time, piece goods already located on the secondbearing surface, may be detected and separately conveyed to thetransport device. Once all piece goods on the second bearing surfacehave been processed, that is, detected and transferred to the transportdevice, the apparatus may instantly start with the separation of thepiece goods that have meanwhile been moved onto the first bearingsurface. Thus, it is not necessary to wait for the first bearing surfaceto be filled with piece goods. In this way, the speed of the overallseparating process may be significantly increased (e.g., more piecegoods per hour can be separated).

The bearing surfaces of the separating apparatus are filled with piecegoods via the conveyor device. Knowing the functional mode of theconveying system and the bearing surfaces, which may be provided by aconveyor belt or a tiltable surface, for example, the filling of thebearing surfaces with piece goods may be time-dependently controlled.That is, for a time period t1, piece goods may be moved onto a bearingsurface, and it is then assumed that the bearing surface is adequatelyfilled. However, with this time-dependent filling of the bearingsurfaces with piece goods, an optimal filling of the bearing surfaces isnot guaranteed. In a preferred embodiment of the separating apparatus,the separating apparatus includes a sensor device coupled to the controlunit for detecting the fill level of the bearing surfaces. The sensordevice ensures that the filling of the bearing surface is onlydiscontinued when an optimal fill level has been attained. The optimalfill level is subject to details of the separating apparatus itself(e.g., the arrangement of the bearing surfaces and the configuration ofthe handling mechanism).

Dependent on exactly how the apparatus is operated, however, it may alsobe provided that immediately after moving only one article of piecegoods onto a bearing surface, the further filling of the bearing surfaceis stopped, and another bearing surface is filled.

The sensor device may be a light barrier or a proximity sensor, forexample. An optical sensor, which detects the movement of an article ofpiece goods onto the bearing surface or the occupancy of the bearingsurface, may also be used for a sensor device.

The orientation, and on a regular basis, at least roughly, the dimensionof the piece goods on the bearing surface may be determined by thesensor device. Based on the detected data regarding the orientation anddimension of the article of piece goods, the handling mechanism may beactuated to remove the article of piece goods from the bearing surface.For this purpose, the handling mechanism may be provided with a jawgripper, or a suction gripper, for example. Preferably, the handlingmechanism includes multiple gripping module, which are activated basedon the type of piece goods to be gripped.

During the detection of the orientation and dimension of the article ofpiece goods on the bearing surface, it is frequently not possible toidentify the article of piece goods because the identifier of thearticle of piece goods (a barcode, for example) can often not bedetected. After removing the article of piece goods from the bearingsurface, it is conveyed, if necessary, to the detection device, whichreads the data of the article of piece goods. These data are theidentifier of the article of piece goods, and if applicable, thedimensions of the article of piece goods. For this purpose, the articleof piece goods may be moved by the handling mechanism, that is, in frontof the detection device in preset sequences of movement, wherein thesequences of movement depend on when all necessary data are detected. Ifbased on the identifier, the dimensions may be assumed (for example,based on a database of the control unit of the apparatus or the storagefacility), detecting the actual dimensions is no longer necessary.

During the detection of additional data of the gripped article of piecegoods by the detection device, the detection device cannot be used todetermine the orientation, position, and/or dimension of a furtherarticle of piece goods to be gripped on the bearing surface if thedetection device only includes one detector. In a preferred embodimentof the separating apparatus, it is therefore provided that the detectiondevice is provided with an object detection module (e.g., detector) anda data acquisition module. The object detection module is responsiblefor determining the orientation, position, and optionally, dimension ofan article of piece goods. Here, the data provided by the objectdetection module may be used for gripping the article of piece goodswith the handling mechanism. The data acquisition module may be used todetect further data (e.g., the identifier), and optionally, thedimension of the article of piece goods.

The separating apparatus may include at least two bearing surfaces,which are operated in parallel. An object detector may be assigned tothe bearing surfaces, and arranged or disposed such that it can detectthe orientation, position, and optionally, the dimension of an articleof piece goods on each bearing surface. To this end, the object detectormay be moved between the individual bearing surfaces on a guide module,for example. However, in a preferred embodiment, it is provided that toeach bearing surface, an object detector is assigned. With aconfiguration such as this, the array of the object detection device issimplified. Furthermore, with a configuration such as this, it ispossible to detect, with the use of the object detector, orientation,position, and dimension of different articles of piece goods on abearing surface that was just filled, while piece goods are still beingremoved from another bearing surface for which the object detectorassigned to the other bearing surface is required.

In order to simplify the identification of the piece goods on thebearing surfaces, it is preferred that the piece goods are positioned onthe bearing surface only next to one another and not on top of oneanother. In order to achieve a pre-separation of the piece goods, it isprovided in a preferred embodiment of the separating apparatus that theconveying system has a number of conveyors corresponding to the numberof bearing surfaces. For each conveyor, a transfer surface is arrangedand any transfer devices are configured such that the bearing surfacesmay be filled with piece goods separately from one another. Theconveying module may also be conveyor belts or step conveyors that maybe controlled separately from one another, for example.

A holder may be assigned to each of the conveyors. This is advantageousif the conveyors cannot be controlled separately from one another. If ona bearing surface, no further piece goods are to be moved, the holder iscorrespondingly moved into the conveying path to the bearing surface nolonger to be filled so that, via the conveyor, piece goods are onlymoved to other bearing surfaces.

In some embodiments, it is provided that the conveying system includesat least one conveyor having multiple transfer surfaces and a piecegoods flow divider, which may block the transfer surfaces separatelyfrom one another so that the bearing surfaces may be filled with piecegoods separately from one another.

By way of suitable devices, the conveyor may be filled in batches with acertain number of piece goods, which distribute themselves on theconveyor and are then conveyed to the bearing surfaces, for example. Ina preferred embodiment, it is provided that the separating apparatus hasa piece goods feeder located upstream of the conveyor, by way of whichpiece goods are conveyed to the conveyor. By way of the piece goodsfeeder, the piece goods may, in a controlled manner, be conveyed tothose conveyors that have a sufficient receiving capacity. Further, thepiece goods feeder may store a great number of piece goods so that theseparating apparatus can be operated over a longer period of timewithout renewed introduction of new piece goods.

With respect to the arrangement of the transport device regarding thebearing surfaces, in a preferred embodiment, bearing surfaces arearranged in parallel and spaced apart from one another. This allows fora particularly simple structural configuration of the separatingapparatus. The handling mechanism may then be arranged centrally betweenthe bearing surfaces so that only short distances from the bearingsurfaces to the transport device have to be covered. If the separatingapparatus includes more than two bearing surfaces, two or more transportdevices may be used.

The bearing surfaces may have different configurations. In exampleembodiments, a bearing surface is an inclined bearing plate, which maybe coupled to an actuating device. In example embodiments, the bearingsurface may be provided by a belt conveyor. In other embodiments, careshould be taken that the piece goods can be moved on, or onto, thebearing surface such that they remain within the action radius of thehandling mechanism.

A piece good separating method is provided. Here, the conveying systemis initially provided with piece goods (e.g., on a piece goods feeder)on which a larger number of piece goods can be stored temporarily. Inother examples, the piece goods are made available to the piece goodsfeeder via a piece goods bin, or directly to the conveyor.

Via a first conveying path, piece goods are moved by the conveyingsystem onto a first bearing surface, and the position and orientation ofthe piece goods on the first repository are determined. Piece goods areseized from the first bearing surface by the handling mechanism and areconveyed to the detection device, i.e., guided past the detection device(method step c1). The detection device reads data of the piece goods,and piece goods are deposited by the handling mechanism onto thetransport device.

The moving of the piece goods onto the bearing surface may be done suchthat always only one article of piece goods is moved onto the bearingsurface, which will then be processed further (determine orientation,position, seize article of piece goods, read data, deposit article ofpiece goods on the transport device). In some embodiments, in this way,piece goods may be moved onto the bearing surface until it is “full,”and only then, the further processing of the piece goods takes place.

Determining the position and orientation of the piece goods is done withthe aid of the detection device, as has already been described abovewith reference to the separating apparatus. Once the orientation andposition of an article of piece goods has been detected, it may begripped by the handling mechanism and conveyed to the detection device,which reads data of the piece goods.

Whenever the term “piece goods” is mentioned in a method step, it doesnot mean that several piece goods are seized simultaneously, forexample, by the handling mechanism, but rather, that individual articlesof piece goods are seized consecutively by the handling mechanism andare conveyed to the detection device. The same holds true for other (butnot all) method steps.

In some embodiments, piece goods are moved by the conveying system to asecond bearing surface via a second conveying path, and the position andorientation of the piece goods on the second bearing surface aredetermined. The piece goods are gripped from the second bearing surfaceby the handling mechanism and are conveyed to the detection device, orguided past the detection device, which reads data of the piece goods.Thereafter, the piece goods are deposited on the transport device by thehandling mechanism.

The individual steps of the two conveying paths may be temporallycoordinated with one another such that steps of each conveying path arecarried out consecutively, or coordinated. That is, after all piecegoods on the first bearing surface have been gripped by the handlingmechanism, have been conveyed to the detection device, and have beendeposited by the handling mechanism on the transport device, then thepiece goods on the second bearing surface are gripped from the secondbearing surface by the handling mechanism, are conveyed to the detectiondevice, and are deposited by the handling mechanism on the transportdevice. At the same time, the first, now empty bearing surface is beingfilled with other piece goods.

In other words, a processing of any arbitrary bearing surface may beinitiated as soon as the processing of another bearing surface isfinished, regardless of how many piece goods were deposited on a bearingsurface. Since, in this example, the processing of a bearing surfacetakes place immediately following the processing of another bearingsurface, there is no need to wait until the normally provided onesupport surface has been filled anew with piece goods, and significantlymore piece goods can be separated per time interval.

In a preferred embodiment of the method, the position and theorientation of the piece goods on the bearing surfaces are detected byseparate object detection units. In a further preferred embodiment, thedata of the piece goods are read by a data acquisition unit.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a separating apparatus 1 that includes twoparallel bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b, between which a transport device 8for receiving and forwarding piece goods 2 is arranged, the transportdevice 8 not being a part of the separating apparatus 1. Between thebearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b, a handling mechanism 60 for gripping piecegoods 2 from the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b and for depositing the piecegoods 2 on the transport device 8 is arranged or disposed. It isindicated in the embodiment shown that the handling mechanism 60 hastaken hold of an article of piece goods 2′ by way of a gripper 61. Togrip piece goods 2, the handling mechanism 60 may be provided with anysuitable gripper 61, such as a suction gripper or a jaw gripper, forexample.

Above the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b as well as the transport device 8, adetection device 50 having two object detectors 50 a, 50 b, which arededicated to the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b, and a data acquisitionmodule 50 c is arranged.

As soon as an article of piece goods 2 has been gripped by the handlingmechanism 60, the gripped piece good 2 is moved to or guided past thedata acquisition module 50 c by the handling mechanism 60, and using thedata acquisition module 50 c, an identifier of the article of piecegoods 2 is read. The identifier may be a barcode or an RFID tag, forexample, wherein the data acquisition module 50 c is adapted to the typeof identifier used. The data acquisition module 50 c may also includemultiple components for reading data if it is to be expected that piecegoods 2 having different identifiers will be present. If need be, thedimensions of the article of piece goods 2 are also captured, andsubsequently, the piece good 2 will be deposited in a receiving area 9of the transport device 8. However, detecting the dimensions is onlynecessary if the separating apparatus 1 or the automated storagefacility is not familiar with the dimensions on the basis of theidentifier.

Located upstream of the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b is a conveying system40, which in the shown embodiment is provided with two conveyors 42 a,42 b. The conveyors 42 a, 42 b are each provided with a transfer surface41 a, 41 b, which abut the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b. By use of thetransfer surfaces 41 a, 41 b, piece goods 2 are moved from the conveyors42 a, 42 b onto the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b. In the embodiment shown,a holder 43 a, 43 b is assigned to each transfer surface 41 a, 41 b, viawhich the transport path between the conveyors 42 a, 42 b and thebearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b may be blocked, which is necessary if theconveyors 42 a, 42 b cannot be controlled separately from one another,which, however, is not the case in the illustrated embodiment.

The conveyors 42 a, 42 b are coupled to a control unit 6, which in turnis coupled to a sensor 7. The sensor 7 detects the fill level and/or thearrival of an article of piece goods 2 on one of the bearing surfaces 3a, 3 b. Subject to the fill level of the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b, theconveyors 42 a, 42 b are actuated by the control unit 6 in order to moveadditional piece goods 2 onto the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b if fullcapacity has not been reached yet, when a filling of the bearingsurfaces 3 a, 3 b with several piece goods 2 is desired. However, ifonly one article of piece goods 2 is to be moved onto a bearing surface3 a, 3 b, an addition infeed is prevented via the control unit 6 as soonas it is ascertained that an article of piece goods 2 has beendelivered. The conveyors 42 a, 42 b are supplied with piece goods 2 byway of additional (not illustrated) input devices (e.g., additionalconveyors).

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a separating apparatus 100 that includestwo bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b arranged in parallel, above which thedetection device 50 having two object detectors 50 a, 50 b and the dataacquisition module 50 c is arranged. At the right end of the bearingsurfaces 3 a, 3 b, a transport device 8 is arranged, in the receivingarea 9 of which piece goods 2 are deposited by the handling mechanism60, which is arranged between the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b. In thisembodiment, the handling mechanism 60 may be provided with a jaw gripperor a suction gripper, with which piece goods 2′ can be gripped, beconveyed to the data acquisition unit 50 c for reading the requireddata, and be deposited in the receiving area 9 of the transport device8.

In the illustrated embodiment, a conveying system 140 includes only oneconveyor 142 a having two transfer surfaces 141 a, 141 b, via whichpiece goods can be moved from the conveyor 142 a onto the bearingsurfaces 3 a, 3 b.

Assigned to each transfer surface 41 a, 41 b is a holder 43 a, 43 b,which may interrupt the transport path from the conveyor 142 a onto oneof each bearing surface 3 a, 3 b. In the embodiment shown, the holder 43b may be moved downward into the conveying path such that no piece goods2 can get from the conveyor 142 a onto the bearing surface 3 b. Forexample, the article of piece goods 2″ abuts the holder 43 b, anddespite the movement of the conveyor 142 a, does not get moved onto thebearing surface 3 b. The holder 43 a may be moved upwards from theconveying path so that piece goods 2 may be moved from the conveyor 142a onto the bearing surface 3 a.

In some embodiments, the holder may also be configured as a pivotableholder 44, which is swiveled to and fro between the transfer surfaces 41a, 41 b, so that one conveying path from the conveyor 142 a onto abearing surface 3 a, 3 b is always blocked. The pivoting path of theholder 44 must thereby be adapted to the exact structural conditions.For example, it may be necessary to lift the holder 44 prior toswiveling.

Assigned to the conveyor 142 a is a piece goods feeder 45, by whichpiece goods 2 may be moved onto the conveyor 142 a. As in the previouslydescribed embodiment, the separating apparatus 100 includes a controlunit 6, which is coupled to the conveyor 142 a and the bearing surfaces3 a, 3 b. In addition thereto, the control unit 6 is coupled to thedetection device 50 and the handling mechanism 60 to control thedetecting, gripping, identifying, and depositing of the piece goods 2.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a separating apparatus 200, whichessentially corresponds to the embodiment in FIG. 1, with thedifference, however, that a piece goods feeder 245 is assigned to theconveyors 42 a, 42 b, which in this embodiment is configured as afurther conveyor belt, by way of which piece goods are moved onto theconveyors 42 a, 42 b. In this embodiment, holders 43 a, 43 b arearranged between the piece goods feeder 245 and the conveyors 42 a, 42b, by way of which the movement of piece goods 2 onto the conveyors 42a, 42 b may be restricted. At the transition from the piece goods feederto the conveyors 42 a, 42 b, a piece goods flow divider 46 is arrangedin the central area of the piece goods feeder 245, which ensures thatthe piece goods 2 in the central area are guided in the direction of thetransfer areas 43 a′, 43 b′ assigned to the conveyors 42 a, 42 b of thepiece goods conveyor.

In this embodiment, no holders are assigned to the transfer surfaces 41a, 41 b, thus, the conveying path as such cannot be blocked. This makesit necessary that the conveyors 42 a, 42 b either be controlledseparately so that the piece goods 2 may be moved onto the bearingsurfaces 3 a, 3 b in a targeted manner, or that a blocking of theconveying path is done by way of the holders 43 a, 43 b arrangeddownstream of the piece goods feeder 245. In that case, the conveyors 42a, 42 b are used as intermediate buffers, by which piece goods 2 aremoved onto the bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b as soon as all piece goods 2have been removed therefrom, which can be detected using the detectiondevice 50. As for the rest, the embodiment corresponds to the embodimentas shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a separating apparatus 300, whichcorresponds to a large extent to the embodiment according to FIG. 3. Inthe embodiment shown herein, the separating apparatus 300 includes thetwo conveyors 42 a, 42 b having two transfer surfaces 41 a, 41 bassigned to bearing surfaces 3 a, 3 b. However, unlike in the embodimentshown in FIG. 3, the conveyors 42 a, 42 b are not parallel, but arearranged at an angle to one another so that in the left area, theyadjoin.

Upstream of the conveyors 42 a, 42 b, a piece goods feeder 345 isarranged, which in the illustrated embodiment is yet again configured asa conveyor belt. In addition, a piece goods bin 346 is assigned to thepiece goods feeder 346, in which a larger stock of piece goods 2 may bestored. In this embodiment, conveyors 42 a, 42 b may also be configuredas conveyor belts or step conveyors, wherein in the illustratedembodiment, conveyor belts are indicated. The remaining parts of theembodiment shown in FIG. 4 correspond to the embodiments alreadyillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the separating apparatus 1. On the left sideof FIG. 5, a conveyor 42 b configured as a belt conveyor can bediscerned, on which a number of piece goods 2 are arranged. Via conveyor42 b, the piece goods 2 are moved, individually or in groups, onto thebearing surface 3 b. On the bearing surface 3 b, orientation andposition of the piece goods 2 are detected by the object detector 50 b,wherein the object detector 50 b interacts with appropriate software inorder to detect the orientation and position of the individual piecegoods 2 on the bearing surface 3 b.

Once the orientation and position of an article of piece goods 2 hasbeen determined, it is gripped by a gripper 61 of the handling mechanism60. In the embodiment shown, the gripper 61 is indicated as a suctiongripper arranged at the end of the handling mechanism 60. Using thesuction gripper 61, or the handling mechanism 60, the piece goods 2 areconveyed to the data acquisition module 50 c, or guided past the same,and with the data acquisition module 50 c, the identifier of the articleof piece goods 2 is read. If necessary, in addition thereto, thedimensions of the article of piece goods 2 may be detected using thedata acquisition module 50 c if the separating apparatus 1 does notalready have this data on the basis of the identifier. An exactdetermination of the dimensions may also be omitted if a control unit ofa downstream automated storage facility (not shown) can determine thedimensions by use of a database based on the transmitted data of theidentifier.

Once the article of piece goods 2 is identified, it is deposited by thehandling mechanism 60 on a receiving area 9 of the transport device 8.With the aid of the transport device 8, the piece goods 2 are moved intoan automated storage facility, where with a suitable operating device,the piece goods 2 are deposited at their assigned storage locations. Theexact determination of the storage location is done be a control unit ofthe storage facility since the storage location is subject to theoccupancy of the storage facility.

A piece goods feeder 46 is assigned to the conveyor 42 b, which in theshown embodiment is configured as a chute. In order to prevent the piecegoods 2 from dropping, a wall 47 is arranged at the end of the conveyor42 b.

With the aid of the sensor 7 arranged at the detection device 50, it maybe detected when an article of piece goods 2 is being moved onto thebearing surface 3 b. The sensor 7 may be configured as a simple lightbarrier, for example. As another example, the sensor 7 may also sensethe total occupancy of the bearing surface 3 b. In another example, thefunctions of the sensor 7 may also be taken over by the object detector50 b.

In the embodiments shown, the conveyors have been indicated to beconveyor belts. However, a corresponding design is not required; theconveyors may be configured as step conveyors, for example, orcomparable conveying means known to those skilled in the art. Likewise,the bearing surfaces have always been illustrated as conveyor belts.Such a design of the bearing surfaces is likewise not absolutelynecessary. As already indicated, the bearing surfaces may also beprovided by tiltable planes, for example. At least in the event thatseveral piece goods are to be moved onto the bearing surfaces, it ispreferred that the bearing surfaces be configured such that piece goodsmay be moved away from the transfer area in order to avoid a jamming ofthe piece goods. In a simple case, this may be achieved using aninclined surface, for example, at the end of which a stop for the piecegoods located thereupon is provided.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart illustrating steps in a method 200 forseparating piece goods, according to some embodiments. Method 200 may beperformed in connection with a piece goods separating apparatus ordevice consistent with the present disclosure (e.g., separatingapparatus 1). Accordingly, the piece goods separating apparatus ordevice in method 200 may include a conveying system (e.g., conveyingsystem 40) having first and second conveying paths. Via each of theconveying paths, the piece goods separating apparatus or device may movepiece goods (e.g., piece goods 2) onto a bearing surface (e.g., bearingsurfaces 3 a, 3 b) by the conveying system, determine the position andorientation of the piece goods on the bearing surface, grip the piecegoods from the bearing surface by a handling mechanism (e.g., handlingmechanism 60), convey the piece goods to a detection device (e.g.,detection device 50), read data of the piece goods by the detectiondevice, and deposit the piece goods on a transport device (e.g.,transport device 8) by the handling mechanism. A fill level of one ofthe bearing surfaces may be detected by a sensor device (e.g., sensor7). A plurality of transfer surfaces (e.g., transfer surfaces 41 a, 41b) of a conveyor (e.g., conveyor 42 a, 42 b) may be separately blockedfrom one another by a piece goods flow divider (e.g., piece goods flowdivider 46) so that the piece goods may be provided to each of thebearing surfaces separately from one another.

Steps in method 200 may be performed at least partially by an operator,medical personnel, or a healthcare professional in a healthcare facilityor in a drugstore, or in a pharma manufacturing facility. Accordingly,method 200 may be part of a medicament management or a drug logisticprepared by a physician or a healthcare professional. Moreover, method200 may be performed automatically upon execution of a command providedby or controlled by a healthcare professional. For example, steps inmethod 200 may be programmed or directed with commands oncomputer-readable media, which, in some embodiments, can comprisenon-transitory computer readable media.

Methods consistent with the present disclosure may include at least oneof the steps illustrated in FIG. 6, performed in any order. In someembodiments, a method may include at least two of the steps illustratedin FIG. 6 performed overlapping in time, or even simultaneously.Moreover, embodiments consistent with the present disclosure may includeat least one but not all of the steps illustrated in FIG. 6.Furthermore, methods consistent with the present disclosure may includemore steps, in addition to at least one of the steps illustrated in FIG.6. In some embodiments, one or more steps may be repeated.

Step 210 includes providing a conveying system with piece goods. Step220 includes moving piece goods onto a bearing surface by the conveyingsystem. Step 230 includes determining the position and orientation ofthe piece goods on the bearing surface. Step 240 includes gripping thepiece goods from the bearing surface by a handling mechanism. Step 250includes conveying the piece goods to a detection device. Step 260includes reading, by the detection device, data of the piece goods. Step270 includes depositing the piece goods on a transport device by thehandling mechanism. In some embodiments, steps 220-270 are performed oneach of first and second conveying paths. In some embodiments, steps240-260 are time-coordinated with one another such that the gripping,conveying and reading of the piece goods are carried out consecutivelyby the first and second conveying paths. Step 280 includes detecting afill level of one of the bearing surfaces by a sensor device. Step 290includes blocking a plurality of transfer surfaces of a conveyorseparately from one another by a piece goods flow divider so that thepiece goods are provided to each of the bearing surfaces separately fromone another.

It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of blocks in themethods of processes disclosed is an illustration of example approaches.Based upon design or implementation preferences, it is understood thatthe specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the processes may berearranged, or that all illustrated blocks be performed. In someimplementations, any of the blocks may be performed simultaneously.

The present disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. The disclosureprovides various examples of the subject technology, and the subjecttechnology is not limited to these examples. Various modifications tothese aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, andthe generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects.

A reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “oneand only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.”Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one ormore. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine andneuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headings andsubheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit theinvention.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example orillustration.” Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” isnot necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otheraspects or designs. In one aspect, various alternative configurationsand operations described herein may be considered to be at leastequivalent.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series ofitems, with the term “or” to separate any of the items, modifies thelist as a whole, rather than each item of the list. The phrase “at leastone of” does not require selection of at least one item; rather, thephrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of any one of theitems, and/or at least one of any combination of the items, and/or atleast one of each of the items. By way of example, the phrase “at leastone of A, B, or C” may refer to: only A, only B, or only C; or anycombination of A, B, and C.

A phrase such as an “aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations.An aspect may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspectmay refer to one or more aspects and vice versa. A phrase such as an“embodiment” does not imply that such embodiment is essential to thesubject technology or that such embodiment applies to all configurationsof the subject technology. A disclosure relating to an embodiment mayapply to all embodiments, or one or more embodiments. An embodiment mayprovide one or more examples. A phrase such an embodiment may refer toone or more embodiments and vice versa. A phrase such as a“configuration” does not imply that such configuration is essential tothe subject technology or that such configuration applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to aconfiguration may apply to all configurations, or one or moreconfigurations. A configuration may provide one or more examples. Aphrase such a configuration may refer to one or more configurations andvice versa.

In one aspect, unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values,ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that areset forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow,are approximate, not exact. In one aspect, they are intended to have areasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which theyrelate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps,operations or processes disclosed is an illustration of exemplaryapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of steps, operations or processes may berearranged. Some of the steps, operations or processes may be performedsimultaneously. Some or all of the steps, operations, or processes maybe performed automatically, without the intervention of a user. Theaccompanying method claims, if any, present elements of the varioussteps, operations or processes in a sample order, and are not meant tobe limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112 (0 unless the element isexpressly recited using the phrase “module for” or, in the case of amethod claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”Furthermore, to the extent that the term “include,” “have,” or the likeis used, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar tothe term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted when employed as atransitional word in a claim.

The Title, Background, Summary, Brief Description of the Drawings andAbstract of the disclosure are hereby incorporated into the disclosureand are provided as illustrative examples of the disclosure, not asrestrictive descriptions. It is submitted with the understanding thatthey will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the Detailed Description, it can be seen that thedescription provides illustrative examples and the various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed configuration or operation. The followingclaims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with eachclaim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

The claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects describedherein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with thelanguage claims and to encompass all legal equivalents. Notwithstanding,none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails tosatisfy the requirement of 35 U.S.C. §101, 102, or 103, nor should theybe interpreted in such a way.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for separating piece goods to bestored in an automated storage facility, comprising: at least twobearing surfaces configured to receive piece goods; a conveying systemconfigured to provide the piece goods to the bearing surfaces, theconveying system comprising: one or more transfer surfaces dedicated tothe bearing surfaces and configured to transfer the piece goods to thebearing surfaces; and a number of conveyors corresponding to the numberof bearing surfaces, wherein a transfer surface is disposed on eachconveyor, the conveyors configured to provide the bearing surfaces withthe piece goods separately from one another; a control unit coupled tothe conveying system, the control unit configured to actuate theconveying system for a targeted provision of the piece goods to thebearing surfaces; a detection device coupled to the control unit, thedetection device configured to detect a position, an orientation, andpackage data of the piece goods; and a handling mechanism coupled to thecontrol unit, the handling device configured to grip the piece goods onthe bearing surfaces and deposit the piece goods on a transport device.2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sensor device coupledto the control unit, the sensor device configured to detect the filllevel of the bearing surfaces.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, thedetection device comprising at least one object detector and one dataacquisition module.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein an objectdetector is assigned to each bearing surface.
 5. The apparatus of claim1, further comprising a holder associated with each of the conveyors. 6.The apparatus of claim 1, the conveying system comprising: at least oneconveyor having a plurality of transfer surfaces; and a piece goods flowdivider configured to block the plurality of transfer surfacesseparately from one another so that the piece goods may be provided tothe bearing surfaces separately from one another.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1, the conveying system comprising a piece goods feeder disposedupstream of the conveyor, the piece goods feeder configured to conveythe piece goods to the conveyor.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe bearing surfaces are configured in parallel and spaced apart fromone another.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one bearingsurface comprises a tiltable plane.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein at least one bearing surface comprises a belt conveyor.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one bearing surface comprises aninclined bearing plate configured to be coupled to an actuating device.12. A method for separating piece goods using a piece goods separatingapparatus, the method comprising: providing a conveying system withpiece goods, the conveying system comprising first and second conveyorscorresponding to first and second bearing surfaces respectively, firstand second transfer surfaces respectively disposed on the first andsecond conveyors, the first and second conveyors configured to providethe first and second bearing surfaces with the piece goods separatelyfrom one another; via the first conveyor: moving first piece goods ontothe first bearing surface by the conveying system; determining theposition and orientation of the first piece goods on the first bearingsurface; gripping the first piece goods from the first bearing surfaceby a handling mechanism; conveying the first piece goods to a detectiondevice; reading, by the detection device, data of the first piece goods;depositing the first piece goods on a transport device by the handlingmechanism; and via the second conveyor: moving second piece goods ontothe second bearing surface by the conveying system; determining theposition and orientation of the second piece goods on the second bearingsurface; gripping the second piece goods from the second bearing surfaceby a handling mechanism; conveying the second piece goods to thedetection device; reading, by the detection device, data of the secondpiece goods; and depositing the second piece goods on the transportdevice by the handling mechanism, wherein steps of the first and secondconveyors are time-coordinated with one another such that the gripping,conveying, and reading of the first piece goods are carried outconsecutively in relation to the gripping, conveying, and reading of thesecond piece goods.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the position andthe orientation of the first and second piece goods on the first andsecond bearing surfaces are detected by separate object detectors. 14.The method of claim 12, wherein the data of the first and second piecegoods are read by a data acquisition module.
 15. The method of claim 12,further comprising detecting a fill level of one of the first and secondbearing surfaces by a sensor device.
 16. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising blocking first and second transfer surfaces separately fromone another by a piece goods flow divider to cause the first and secondpiece goods to be provided to the first and second bearing surfacesseparately from one another.
 17. A device for separating piece goods,comprising: a plurality of bearing surfaces configured to receive piecegoods; a conveying system configured to provide the piece goods to theplurality of bearing surfaces, the conveying system comprising: aseparate conveyor associated with each of the plurality of bearingsurfaces; a transfer surface disposed on each separate conveyor, whereinthe conveyors are configured to provide the plurality of bearingsurfaces with the piece goods separately from one another; a controlunit configured to control a targeted provision of the piece goods tothe plurality of bearing surfaces; a detection device configured todetect at least one of a position, an orientation, and package data ofthe piece goods; and a handling mechanism configured to grip and depositthe piece goods on a transport device.
 18. The device of claim 17, theconveying system comprising: a holder associated with each separateconveyor.
 19. The device of claim 18, wherein the conveying system isconfigured to provide a portion of the piece goods to each of theplurality of bearing surfaces separately from one another.
 20. Thedevice of claim 17, the conveying system comprising: a conveyor having aplurality of transfer surfaces; and a piece goods flow dividerconfigured to block each of the plurality of transfer surfacesseparately from one another.